Amazon confirmed Oct. 19 that it has hired Claire Winiarek, PhD, as director of healthcare public policy.
Dr. Winiarek previously served as vice president of policy for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association and, before that, director of the division of managed care policy for CMS. She also was vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for Magellan Health, a for-profit managed healthcare company.
In her new role, Dr. Winiarek heads Amazon's federal, state and local policy engagement in support of Amazon Care, Amazon Diagnostics, Amazon Pharmacy and PillPack, as well as COVID-19 shots, according to her LinkedIn page.
Amazon said Dr. Winiarek's hire is part of the company's overall strategy to increase its healthcare policy advocacy efforts.
"Amazon provides a wide range of products and services for our customers, and we're constantly looking for the next innovation we can provide them," said an Amazon spokesperson. "Our Washington, D.C., team is focused on ensuring we are advocating on issues that are important to policymakers, our employees and our customers."
Amazon is the second-largest private U.S. employer after Walmart. The company announced in September that it would hire more than 165,000 employees as the company continues to grow and expands in the healthcare space.